


The Frozen Yogurt Paradox

by rnadison



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: College AU, M/M, Modern AU, Murphy-centric, just murphy having a big old crush on bellamy blake, the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 21:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6627205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rnadison/pseuds/rnadison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>tumblr AU: "I always give you extra toppings when you come into our yogurt shop and it's costing me money but damn you're hot." </p><p>Ft. shoes being thrown, bananas, Murphy hiding behind counters, and Jasper being a little shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Frozen Yogurt Paradox

It was any other day at the frozen yogurt shop.

It was a meaningless, simple existence. Murphy worked at the yogurt shop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after his junior classes at the university. He served sweetly tart, yet overpriced yogurt that came in colorful flavors. He sprinkled fresh, delicious toppings and argued with his coworker about the fact they couldn't play his death metal music on the speakers because they couldn't have songs like _Maze of Torment_ and _Lord of All Fevers and Plague_ playing in a friggin' _frozen yogurt shop_.

It was just past three in the afternoon on that fateful Friday. Murphy was wiping the counter for the _n_ th time in boredom when _he_ came in.

By _he_ , Murphy means, perfection in human form. Pygmalion would have ditched Galatea and gone gay for him - if he wasn't already. You could never know with those ancient Greeks. Michelangelo would have looked at David and thought, _'What was I smoking last night?'_ That was all the references Murphy had, since that was all Murphy paid attention to during his sophomore History class. Basically -– god damn, he was hot.

He had a small smile on his face as his warm hazel eyes looked around their colorful frozen yogurt shop. He was wearing his university jacket, and beneath the school emblem Murphy read, ' _Track & Field _'. Murphy instantly noticed from the school emblem that he was studying at his university's bitter rival -– but now, Murphy was more than ready to wave a flag and defect at the sight of him.

He wanted to run his hand through his thick, black  hair. He wanted to feel what those cheekbones felt underneath his thumbs and he wanted to see that light scatter of freckles on the bridge of his nose up close.

Murphy wanted to do a lot of things to him, and he subsequently wanted the guy to do a lot of things back to him, so many that Murphy couldn't possibly dare say them aloud. But the only thing Murphy ended up doing was letting out a high squeak right before ducking behind the counter. He pulled his knees close to his chest as he looked around for his coworker. _Where was he?_

"Jasper!" Murphy hissed. He was a few feet away, refilling the cup of blueberry toppings as he hummed some demonic tune he liked. Jasper studied in the same university Murphy did, but he was a freshman, so by default, he was idiotic and below him.

He still wasn't paying attention, so Murphy pulled one of his sneakers off his foot and chucked it at him. It hit him just below the knee. " _Jasper!_ "

" _What?"_ he finally hissed back, turning his head back to look at him, still holding the jar of blueberries and the teaspoon in his other hand.

For a while they just glared at each other in vehement silence, before Murphy jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Take the order!"

"It's your turn at the counter --  "

"Jasper!"

"I'm not -– "

" _Jasper!"_

" _Fine!"_

He twisted the lid back onto the jar and set the teaspoon down before heading to the counter, making sure to kick Murphy’s shoe farther away from his reach on his way there. He stopped right beside him and he cleared his throat before saying, "Hey, good morning! Welcome to Blue Mountain. What'll you be having?"

The guy paused for a second. "Hmm… Can I have… a medium sized, plain yogurt?"

_Oh, what a voice._

"Sure," Jasper said, automatically taking one medium sized cup from the stack. "What toppings would you like?"

"Hmmm…" the guy mused, and because Murphy was hiding behind the counter, he unfortunately couldn't see what he was doing. Murphy pictured him leaning over the glass box that displayed the row of toppings, his dark eyebrows crinkled in thought, with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face. He heard him chuckle and his skin tingled. "To be honest, this is my first time here, so I'm not quite sure."

Murphy sighed. How honest of him to admit that. _You can be the toppings on my yogurt any day_ , Murphy thought, in that completely not-sexual-but-kinda way paired with a coy growl.

His raunchy little thought bubble burst when Murphy felt the back of Jasper's sneaker jab his side. For a moment, Murphy considered jabbing him back, but then his hand shoots up to cover his mouth when it hits: _he said it out loud._

Oh, dear God.

Fortunately, there were times when Jasper was not-so-idiotic, so he quickly tried to cover up for him by clearing his throat and forcing an easy laugh. "Oh, uh, what was that? I think a bird hit the window… don't worry about it.  Choose anything you like."

Murphy waited for the guy to respond, but he took a while to answer. Murphy spread his arms out and pressed himself as flat as he could against the counter. _Fuck fuck fuck, he heard me. Oh, God. He heard me. Any moment he's going to set his hands on the counter and look down and -–_

"I'll have… a scoop of blackberry, banana, and almonds."

Murphy nearly slumped against the counter in relief, but he perked back up again when he heard the question that he’d been waiting for Jasper to ask.

“Name?”

“Uh, Bellamy.”

 _Bellamy._ Murphy mouths the name, keeping still as Jasper finished his order, got his money and gave him his change. When Murphy heard the bell tinkle again, he slowly rose from his hiding spot and set his hands on the edge of the counter, peeking just above it to make sure he wasn't there anymore. Unfortunately, there was a kid standing right in front of him, ready to take his order, but Murphy shooed him away in the hopes that he could still see Bellamy’s retreating back. But no, he was gone. Stupid kid.

"He's gone."

Murphy looked at Jasper. "I know. I was just checking."

He rolled his eyes, and any other time Murphy would have rolled his eyes back at him, and he would have said something snarky, and Murphy would have said something snarky back – but it wasn't any other time.

That day was when Murphy first met –- or, well, saw -– Mr. PYBBA.

Mr. Plain-Yogurt-Blackberry-Banana-Almonds, aka _Bellamy_.

* * *

Since Murphy was quite the observant person (and borderline obsessive to the point where, as Jasper said, he should go on Dr. Phil), it didn't take long for him to figure out Bellamy’s schedule. He would come to the shop every Friday at around three, order a medium sized plain yogurt with blackberry, banana, and almond toppings, drop his change into the Red Cross donation box, then leave.

He always ordered it to go, but Murphy really hoped that he'd have his yogurt in the shop just so Murphy could see the way he ate it.. It's not that Murphy got turned on at the sight of people inserting things into their mouth –- _really,_ he doesn’t  –- it's more like Murphy wanted to see… bits of his personality. There wasn't much Murphy could see or know about him when he was hiding behind a counter whenever he dropped by.

Did he mix the yogurt and the toppings together before eating? Or did he take bits of the toppings one at a time? Did he take huge spoonfuls and stuff it in his mouth? Did he eat his yogurt slowly and suck the tip of the plastic spoon to savor every bit of the tangy tart taste?

Knowing his pattern, it didn't take long for Murphy to adjust his own. He would get to the shop at one after his classes like usual, take orders, clean up the tables, but at exactly 2:58, he’d duck behind the counter as Jasper got Bellamy's order.

On a particular Friday, Murphy was leaning against the counter as he did his psychology homework. His head was propped up against his hand and he was so engrossed in the Zimbardo prison experiment that he hadn’t realized the time.

"It's 2:59," Jasper said.

Murphy looked up at the clock and eyes instantly flicked to the door as he heard the chimes above it ring. Murphy grabbed his notebook and his pen and fled to the storeroom where they kept all the toppings and the yogurt machine. He pressed his back against the wall and closed his eyes as he heard the front door close.

_That was close._

Murphy turned around and it dawned on him that he wasn't leaning on a wall, but on a tinted window. He could see everything from the outside, but someone from the outside would just see a dark pane of glass.

In other words… a light bulb practically lit up on top of his head.

Bellamy opened the door for a woman and her daughter – _what a guy!_ – and on his way to the counter, his hazel eyes turned directly toward Murphy.

Murphy froze. "Holy –- "

Fortunately, his reflexes kicked in and Murphy ducked, his breathing fast, his heart racing wildly.

Wait.

It was a _tinted window._ What was he _thinking_?

Murphy told himself to relax. It wasn't like Bellamy saw him. It was just a coincidence. He was probably just glancing at his reflection on the window. Hey, if Murphy was as half as good looking as he was, he would too.

Murphy stayed where he was and tried to regain control of his breathing. He picked off a yellow banana from its bundle and was just starting to peel it when Bellamy spoke.

"Are you the only one working during this shift?" he asked Jasper.

Murphy’s hand froze in its place, his fingers still holding onto the tip of the banana peel. Why was he asking? Murphy took a bite of the banana and gulped it down.

_He didn't see you, he didn't see you._

Slowly, Murphy turned around and got back to his feet so he could watch what was happening.

"What?" Jasper asked. He quickly glanced his way.

He paused for a bit…

A little bit longer…

Then laughed.

Murphy wanted to chuck the banana at him, but he knew it would compromise his position.

Jasper turned back to Bellamy and shook his head. "No. It just looks like I'm the only one, but there's actually two of us on this shift."

"Oh," Bellamy said, nodding slowly as he looked around. He chuckled. "I only really see you, so I thought they were cost-cutting or something."

Jasper laughed some more because it was _so_ very funny. "No, no. My co-worker is just extremely lazy. He’s in the backroom nearly eighty percent of the time."

That was it. Jasper was definitely going to get a banana to the face when Murphy got out of the storeroom.

Luckily, Bellamy was smart enough not to believe the words of the idiotic freshman. He laughed though, not long and artificial, but more of a genuine chuckle, and Murphy really wished at that point that he could just shove Jasper away and pretend that Bellamy was laughing at something Murphy had just said.

He ordered his usual order, but before paying he paused as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. "Oh, I'll just get this," he said, smiling as he stepped away from the counter.

Since he had his back to the counter and was out of hearing distance, Murphy poked his head from the storeroom door. " _Hey_ \-- _Jasper._ "

He turned around just as he was about to sprinkle the toppings on the yogurt cup. "What now?"

Murphy quickly motioned for him to come over. "Come here."

"Why -– "

"Come here!"

"What if I don't want -- "

" _Jasper!_ "

He rolled his eyes in a _yo_ _u're-a-sad-excuse-of-a-human-being_ kind of way and walked toward the storeroom. Murphy yanked him inside and grabbed the yogurt cup from his hand.

"What are you doing _now_?"

"I'm putting the toppings," Murphy muttered. He pulled a fresh banana from its bundle and sliced it before opening the refrigerator where they kept the fresh fruits and pulling out some blackberries. The jar of almond slices was next to the refrigerator. He sprinkled each ingredient into the yogurt cup, ignoring the way Jasper was raising his eyebrow at him.

"You're adding more than the assigned amount."

"I know that."

"They're gonna take that out of your salary – "

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Jasper."

He sighed loudly and turned his head to look out the tinted window. "Hurry up. He's already there."

Murphy turned his head and looked over his shoulder just as he was sprinkling the last bits of almonds. Bellamy was leaning forward, looking side to side to find out where Jasper had gone. Oh man, that confused look on his face was _adorable._ Murphy wiped his hands on his apron and handed the yogurt cup back to Jasper. "There."

He rolled his eyes once more before leaving the storeroom. When he moved back to the counter, he managed to place a smile on his face. "Sorry about that. I just got fresher ingredients."

"Oh, no problem," Bellamy said. He handed Jasper his money and when Jasper handed him his order, Murphy noticed the way his hazel eyes widened just a bit. Butterflies bloomed in his stomach just by watching the little ways he reacted to things. "Wow, this is more than usual!"

"Yeah, er..." Jasper said, his eyes glancing toward Murphy for a split second. "We accidentally ordered a bit too much fruit. We need to use a lot of our ingredients so… uhh, we don't have any leftovers."

"Really?" Bellamy’s smile was so wide. What straight, white teeth. And, dear Lord, Murphy thinks he just saw a dimple. He glanced down at the yogurt cup and smiled to himself. "I guess I'm a lucky guy."

When he left, Murphy’s face was practically pressed flat against the storeroom window. His breathing even made the tinted glass fog up.

Bellamy was turning him into an obsessive stalker _and_ he was making him lose money.

_Be still, my beating heart._

* * *

Even though Murphy was losing nearly five dollars a week due to all the toppings he lavished on Bellamy’s yogurt, Murphy didn't really care. Maybe he _was_ obsessed. Maybe he was -- dare he say it? -- in _love_. Murphy didn't know. But he was sure that it was those excess toppings that made him come back every week, instead of dropping by many of the other yogurt shops sprouting on their street, and if five dollars was what needed to be sacrificed for him to drop by the shop, then Murphy was more than ready to give it up.

Fortunately, as the weeks passed by, Jasper stopped saying that Murphy was sad or telling him that he needed a life coach or professional help. He didn't protest anymore and even went along with his act. He made up different excuses just so he could go to the storeroom and let him add his extra toppings.

"Oh, wait. I think a cockroach was lying on top of this a while ago. I'll change it."

"Err, I'll get you new yogurt. This one was kinda sour. I know, I tasted it."

"Wait right here. I need to release some gas, so I'll do it in the storeroom where, fortunately, no one is in right now."

It was any other Friday and Murphy was adding the blackberries to Bellamy’s yogurt when Jasper yawned. He was leaning against the storeroom door and checked his watch.

"I don't see why you can't just go out and talk to him yourself."

Murphy rolled his eyes at him as he reached for the jar of almonds. He glanced at Bellamy. He was leaning against the counter, his hazel eyes reading through the overhead menu.

Murphy turned back to his semi-idiotic, still-below-him freshman coworker. "The reason I stay here is because I can watch him without him knowing of my existence."

Jasper raised an eyebrow as he handed him the jar of almonds. "… What?"

Murphy rolled his eyes again and pointed at the window with the teaspoon he was holding. "Jasper. Tinted windows equals perfect hiding spot," Murphy explained, like he was a five year old. "I see him, he can't see me. Do I need to make it –- "

"Uh, those aren't tinted windows."

Murphy nearly dropped the jar of almonds that he was holding. Luckily, he quickly realized that if he broke it, then he’d have to pay for it. If Murphy added that expense to the money he was already losing because of the extra toppings, he wouldn't be earning anything anymore. His voice grew small and Murphy felt _himself_ growing smaller and smaller.

"… What?"

Jasper looked at him like _he_ was the idiotic one. "Not all dark panes of glass are tinted, you know. "

He paused as he let that little, insignificant detail sink into Murphy’s already liquidating mind.

"He can see you, just as much as you can see him.”

* * *

Murphy stopped working at the shop on Fridays.

Murphy thought about quitting the job altogether, but he still needed the cash to buy… food… music… and stuff. You know, to try to keep his life going… but really, he was just too embarrassed to function.

Murphy kept replaying it over and over in his mind. How stupid he must have looked, how he probably had lettuce stuck between his teeth that time he had a salad for lunch, how obsessed he must have looked with his face pressed against the glass as he stared at Bellamy. Murphy knocked his fist against his head and tried to forget about it, but he couldn't.

Jasper spent the next couple of weeks laughing at him and sharing the story to fellow customers. Apparently, it was quite funny. Some punk kid wanted to make a Facebook fan page just for him before Murphy threatened that if he did, instead of blackberries, he'd sprinkle cat shit from the cat that likes lying on the roof of the shop and mating every other night.

Murphy didn't know how long he’d been wiping the white counter top when Jasper cleared his throat. "If you keep on wiping that, the paint's gonna come off."

Murphy blinked just before looking up at him. Then he looked down at what he had been wiping. "I swear I thought there was chocolate syrup here."

"Yeah, there was." Jasper pushed himself off the counter he was leaning on and started fixing the stack of yogurt cups. "Ten minutes ago."

His shoulders fell. "Oh."

He was done arranging the cups by height when he spoke again. "I need you to be here on Friday night."

Murphy rolled his eyes at him. "You know I don't work here on Fridays anymore."

"Yeah, but there won't be anyone else in the shop."

"Why?" Murphy scoffed, chucking the wet rag over his shoulder and into the sink. "What are you gonna do on a Friday night that's _so_ special that you'd have to take a day off?"

"I'm going out on a date."

Murphy was in the middle of continuing his snarky tirade before he stopped mid-sentence. "… _What?_ "

" _I,"_ Jasper fixed a smug look on his face. He waggled his eyebrows and puffed his chest. "Have a date for Valentine's Day."

Oh, so it was Valentine's Day on –

Wait.

Oh, God.

Jasper had a date for Valentine's Day.

 _Jasper_.

JASPER.

The guy who didn't even _like_ frozen yogurt and yet still worked in a frozen yogurt shop. The guy who dressed up as Jason from _Friday the 13th_ for Halloween and made them lose half a week's revenue because no kid wanted to step in the store. The guy who –- ugh, that just proved it. Murphy was _definitely_ living a very sad life.

Murphy gaped at him like a fish. "I… you..."

"It won't be that bad," Jasper said, rolling his eyes  as he walked over to the counter. He kept his back to him as he continued. "I'm sure _something's_ gonna keep you entertained at some point."

_Sure._

Maybe some kid will get an allergic reaction to almonds that Murphy knew he wasn't supposed to put, but because Murphy was wallowing in misery, he totally forgot… Oh, man, he was thinking morbid thoughts about _kids_. Murphy had reached a new low.

* * *

Jasper and Murphy agreed that he’d get to the shop at five, early enough for him to prepare for his date, and most importantly, late enough so Murphy wouldn't have to see… that guy.

Yeah, look how great Murphy was when it came to moving on. Murphy already forgot his –

No, he’s lying. He couldn’t forget his name if he tried.

Just as Murphy had expected, nearly every person that entered the store that evening had either just came from a movie or a restaurant.

For about thirty times that night, Murphy repeated the line their manager told him to say to every person who entered the store.

"Welcome to our shop! Happy Valentine's Day! We have a special mix just for today called Strawberry Swirl. It has strawberries, raspberries, finished with a honey glaze. Would you like to try it?"

Twenty-eight times out of the thirty, couples said yes. Murphy didn't get it. It wasn't even _that_ great.

Okay, so it tasted really, really, really good… but come on. How about little originality on Valentine's Day? You don't _have_ to order the Valentine's special. They’ve got about thirty different toppings you could choose from. Jeez.

It was nearing eleven and Murphy was just about ready to close up shop. No one had ordered anything for the past ten minutes, so Murphy took the time to do his psychology homework. He was in the middle of reading about the Milgram experiment when he heard the chimes above the door ring. 

"Welcome to the shop," Murphy droned, not even looking up from his paper. If the manager was there, he would have scolded him for being inattentive – but what the heck. Murphy was stuck in the shop on Valentine's Day evening. Nearly every couple in the shop was sharing one large Valentine's special frozen yogurt with those googley-couple eyes as they fed each other honey glazed strawberries.

And no, Murphy was not being bitter.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Murphy started. "We have a special mix just for today called Strawberry Swirl. It has strawberries, raspberries, finished with a honey glaze. Would you like to try it?"

"No thanks, I'll just have a plain yogurt."

 _Finally_ , someone with some originality to think of their own combination.

"Okay then, sir. What toppings would you – "

"I don't see you on Fridays anymore."

Murphy’s pen stopped in the middle of his essay.

He stared down at his notebook, eyes wide.

He didn’t dare to look up.

"You can be the toppings on my yogurt any day."

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to my friend Jake who read this for me and then proceeded to tell me that it was the cheesiest thing I'd ever written. Was he lying? I think not.
> 
> Also, I originally wrote this from Murphy's point of view before changing it to third-person. Apologies if any of the first-person pronouns remain!


End file.
